World Fart Out Loud Day | Letter from the Director | September 2017

This month’s letter is more a request for support than anything else.

I am proposing a new holiday, of sorts. Not a holiday in the literal definition, but rather a new day of recognition, such as World Water Day (March 22), International Day Of Yoga (June 21) and World AIDS Day (December 1).

A serious proposal is now being drawn up to submit to UNESCO to recognize the second Wednesday of every September as World Fart Out Loud Day. On this day, all peoples of the world will be encouraged to allow for the very natural body function of flatulence (farting) to ring loud and true. Consider it a societal let-go that is long overdue.

In terms of bodily mechanics, farting is caused by the internal buildup of gases formed during the always combined process of digestion and respiration. The creation of this gas, how it develops within the digestive tract and its frequency varies considerably depending on the person and their short and long term health and dietary circumstances.

Despite being one of the oldest words in the English dictionary, much of our society resists even addressing the subject of farting let alone allowing it to naturally occur, yet farting is in most cases harmless and actually required to allow for healthy metabolic function.

A generally healthy person may pass gas 14–18 times per day, and although most of these farts go unnoticed by its producer, it is all too common to restrain this natural energetic flow in the body depending upon the person’s social conditioning and immediate social setting.

At what cost though?

Similar to restraining other bodily functions such as sneezing or urinating, intentional blocking of gas creates physical pressure in the body which negatively affects all our vital organs on some level. This includes the brain, both on the physical plane as unhealthy pressure is sent up the spine into the skull, and also mentally as fear-based energetic blockages produce negative mental tension and the related unease throughout the entire body. Like damming a river that needs to flow to the sea, hindering this natural energetic flow is unhealthy physically, mentally and spiritually. A regular yoga practice can show us how such undetected/neglected/unnecessary pressures affect our body and our mood.

Consider how the arrival of this day each September can humourously support people in softening social tensions, be it a freshly collected classroom of school children, a high-stress board meeting or a political setting with vastly opposing views. It’s a wonderful leveller and a tool for connection as we remind ourselves that everybody farts.

World Fart Out Loud Day can become an opportunity for everyone to notice how and why even our subtlest and silliest restrictions distance us from being able to simply relax more with each other and with ourselves, and in a fun and funny way. To let go in this way might seem laughable and even juvenile, yet consider the courage required to give our bodies this kind of permission; permission to operate more naturally, and permission to have fun while doing it. And where could be a better place to launch this initiative than the practice room at Moksha Yoga Bloor West this September 13th?